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Over 40 taken to court for failing to adhere to city’s bylaws
More than 40 persons were recently placed before the Magistrates’ Court, as the Public Health Department of the Mayor and City Councillors of Georgetown engaged a vigorous campaign to detect delinquent operators of barber shops and hairdressing salons.
The campaign, according to Chief Environmental Health Officer, Kenneth Stephen, has allowed the municipality to identify those operators who are currently not adhering to the bylaws of the city of Georgetown.
According to him,
Section 20 of the City bylaws indicate clearly that persons desirous of operating barber shops or hairdressing salons must be registered with the Town Clerk. And in order to have that registration effected such persons must first be medically examined by the Municipal Medical Officer of Health, Stephen disclosed during a recent interview with this publication.
Registration, he explained, is expected to be done on an annual basis.
However, he disclosed that while there are some who willingly comply there are others who have been failing to honour their civic responsibility. It was against this background, Stephen said, that the vigorous campaign was introduced.
Chief Environmental Health Officer, Kenneth Stephen
“We saw the need to intensify our activities over the last six weeks or so in order to bring the delinquent operators in line…” Stephen asserted. He revealed that operators who are placed before the court are in some cases faced with a hefty fine which can reach as high as $30,000. Registration, he revealed, is a mere $3,000.
As a result of persons being brought before the court, Stephen said that several persons have since decided to comply with the bylaws. There are some 300 operators of barber shops and salons of which 283 have since been registered, Stephen disclosed.
“We have seen a noticeable increase in the number of registered operators… there are those who have come in voluntarily and those who we would have had to summon and place before the court.”
Stephen is optimistic that the result of the campaign will be that persons will recognize that the Public Health Department is serious about ensuring that persons who operate within the confines of the city are registered and adhere to the bylaws.
“They have got to remember that there are bylaws that govern the city and it is only right that they comply…” He underscored the importance of operators being medically examined in order to safeguard the health and wellbeing of clients who could be exposed to a number of potential risks such as communicable diseases.
“We have got the responsibility to protect the people out there who expect us to provide a service that works…” Stephen added.
At the moment, the Chief Environmental Officer said that he is satisfied with the result of the campaign even as he expressed optimism that the lessons learnt will remain with the operators in the New Year whereby they are willing to adhere to the bylaws of the city. This is essential, according to him, since the municipality has a glaring problem with human resources thus “we cannot spend our energies focusing on the barbers and hair dressers when there are so many other activities that need to be addressed.”
The Environmental Department is also tasked with the inspection of hotels, schools, day care centers as well as homes and businesses in various wards of the city with the aim of ensuring there is an acceptable level of sanitation.
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